Chapter 5
Cael lifted his blaster, ready to shoot the creature barreling toward them in the dark. He pulled the trigger. A blast hit the cave floor just in front of the beast, and it skidded to a stop. A keening sound erupted from the creature, a whining cry of fear even though he hadn't hit it. He aimed the blaster again. This time, he wouldn't miss.
Midori's hand rested on his elbow. "Wait a minute."
He looked down at her. Her face held no fear. Instead, she seemed concerned.
The beast sighed, slumped down to its belly, and rested its head between its feet. Now with it out in the open, he got a good look at it under the antigrav light.
The creature's round body was covered in long fur, a motley of colors ranging from brown to black to white. It had two long ears rimmed in pink skin that flopped over the side of its head, and four black eyes that blinked as it studied them. Its muzzle ended in a round pink snout which crinkled and flared as it sniffed the air, probably taking in their scent. The hint of two sharp tusk-like teeth poking up from its jaw gave Cael pause. Despite its docile appearance, the creature's size posed a threat. And such tusks could cause significant damage. Probably better to put the creature down and not worry about it attacking them.
Cael was about to pull the trigger and end the beast when Midori stepped forward, her hands in front of her as if surrendering to it.
"It's okay. We're not going to hurt you, buddy."
The beast snuffed at her words and gave a slow blink with its multiple eyes as she took another step forward.
"Midori, I don't think?—"
The creature lifted its head and sniffed the air. Then it rolled to its side and exposed its hairy belly, while its long pink tongue lolled from the side of its mouth.
Midori kneeled down next to the beast. "You're just a big baby, aren't you?"
She scratched its belly, and the creature closed its eyes in pleasure and purred.
Cael took a cautious step forward, keeping his blaster aimed at its head, knowing the beast could still lunge at any time.
"I don't think you need that. He's not going to hurt us. Look."
Midori's fingers disappeared in the animal's thick coat as she continued to scratch its side. One of the beast's hind legs began twitching. With its four eyes half closed, an expression of pure bliss and contentment covered its face.
"Be cautious. It could still …” But then the creature rolled on its back, defenseless.
"It's so soft. Here, give it a scratch." Midori held a hand up to Cael.
He took it, and she pulled him next to her on the cave floor. His hand tingled and warmed where her flesh touched his, but all too soon her hand was pressing his into the animal's fur. The beast snorted, sneezed, and continued to purr as Cael and Midori scratched its belly together. Midori looked up at him and smiled the most genuine and heartfelt smile he'd witnessed from her so far. She was happy. This beast was giving her joy. And for that reason alone, he would protect it with his life.
"It looks like a weird mixture of pig and dog. Like a farm pig got mixed up with a St. Bernard or something. Except for the four eyes. That's different."
The beast tilted its head toward her and blinked as if in agreement.
"I'm not sure what those animals are—a pig and a dog—but on Zyranth we have a small fluffy beast called a magoran. My parents gave me one as a pet when I was a youngling. It looked nothing like this, but the soft fur and the rumbling purr of contentment is familiar. It reminds me of happier times with my family."
"Are your parents still on Zyranth?"
Cael pulled his hands back from the beast. It snorted at him in disapproval. How had he allowed the conversation to turn to him? He needed to be careful about how much he revealed. If they were caught, he didn't want to cause more trouble for Midori by revealing he was a deposed prince.
"No. My parents have both passed into the arms of the Seven Goddesses. My mother died when I was much younger and my father . . . more recently."
"I'm so sorry. I'm an orphan, too. I know how hard it must be for you."
Cael nodded and stood. He wasn't used to so much compassion. Of course, there were compassionate people on his planet, but his family rarely expressed their emotions. More accurately, his father. Or rather, the only emotions he regularly supplied were anger and disappointment in his son. Cael's mother had been different, however. His memories of her were filled with love and laughter. Perhaps his father would have been a different sort of parent if Cael's mother had lived longer. Cael had often wondered if this was why he'd become so reckless, flitting around the galaxy and spending money like it would fill the hole inside him. It had soon become clear nothing he could buy would fill the emptiness, no matter how hard he tried.
"I should build a fire. It will be dark soon. This cave will do for now. I'll try to gather some suitable wood. Please stay in the cave with the . . . pig dog."
Midori smiled and nodded. When she stood, the beast rolled back to its feet and nuzzled her hand with its snout, demanding more attention.
The wind was bracing when Cael stepped out of the cave. The cold didn't bother him too much. His own planet was icy and cold for half of the year, other than a respite during the brief summer months. But he knew nothing about Midori's planet. She'd been shivering before, and he was certain he'd noticed a tinge of blue on her lips before they'd found the cave. Her human body needed more warmth than his, and he'd do his best to provide it.
Unfortunately, finding suitable tinder proved more difficult than Cael anticipated. The blue fir trees were sturdy and didn't seem to drop many branches in the purple snow. It took him much longer than he'd hoped to gather a double arms' worth of wood. Twilight was covering the mountainside when he returned to the cave.
A scream filled the air. Cael threw the wood to the ground and bolted for the cave.
"Pugly, no! Bad pig dog! You go outside and do that." Midori was pushing the beast out of the cave mouth as Cael entered.
"Are you all right? I heard you scream."
Midori finished pushing the creature outside and waved her hand behind it. "Oh, I'm fine. Pugly was squatting in the corner of the cave after I just finished cleaning it out."
Cael blinked once. Twice. "I'm sorry . . . what's a pugly?"
Midori laughed. "It's the name I gave him. Pugly, the ugly pig dog. So ugly, he's cute."
"I see. And Pugly . . . squatted?"
"Yes. He going to take a shit in the corner I cleaned out. Luckily, pig dog poop is round. It was easy to roll out his old scat with the makeshift broom I made, but I didn't want to smell a fresh batch in this small space."
Cael turned to see the branches Midori had tied together with a string from one of her shoes. She was ingenious. He had paid little attention to the state of the cave beforehand, but it looked cleaner than he remembered. She'd also gathered some stones and created a fire ring.
"I'm glad you're unharmed. I dropped the wood in the snow. It will take me just a few minutes to retrieve it."
"Be sure to stomp off your boots when you come in. You tracked snow inside my nice clean cave."
Cael smiled and returned outside. Pugly was there with its back to the cave, staring into the forest as if standing sentry and safeguarding the human inside.
"Good job, Pugly. You keep watch while I get the firewood."
The pig dog snuffed in agreement, as if it understood his every word.
Cael returned and shook off the snow from the gathered branches as well as from his boots. He knew Midori was being playful with him before, but she had done a lot of work cleaning their cave. He didn't want to make puddles of mess when she had tried so hard to make it neat. In a few minutes, he had the wood stacked and ready to light.
Midori stood close to him, hugging herself inside his vest. Her small chin was shaking in the cold.
"Do you have a lighter or something to start the fire?"
"I do, but this might work faster."
He used his blaster on its lowest setting and shot the tinder. It lit instantly, and in a few minutes, the bigger branches and logs were catching fire. He held his hand up to the antigrav light and commanded it to release. It fell into his hands, unlit.
"To save its energy, in case we need it again," he explained when Midori looked at him quizzically. But truth be told, he preferred the firelight. He loved how it lit up Midori's face and spun her shadow onto the cave walls.
"I don't suppose you have anything to eat, do you?" A grumble from Midori's stomach punctuated her question as she sat down next to the fire.
"There were some dried rations in the escape pod. I put them in the solar-thermo bag."
He retrieved the dried meat from the shiny black bag and gave her a stick. Her face contorted with disgust when she took a bite, but she didn't complain. She just took one bite after another as she continued the meal.
"Cael, what are we going to do? Neither of us are dressed to survive a trek down a mountain in the snow. Our supplies are limited, and we don't know where we are or if there's anyone out there to help. Maybe we should have stayed closer to the escape pod. What if we're the only two people on this planet?"
Cael sat down next to her and considered Midori's questions. She was right. They were in a grave amount of danger. However, staying near the escape pod posed equal danger of being discovered by Lord Krissayr's men. If that happened, Midori would be taken away from him and sent to be the mob boss's personal slave. There'd be little hope of saving her from that fate, even if he became the King of Zyranth.
"Maybe we could stay here in this cave. This could be our home until someone arrives."
"Perhaps," Cael answered. He didn't want to scare Midori, but he knew whoever showed up hunting their homing beacon wouldn't be someone they'd want to meet. Their best chance of getting her home would be to find civilization, if there was one.
Midori stifled a yawn with the back of her hand. "I can't believe I'm so sleepy after being asleep in the escape pod."
"It's the letdown after having so much adrenaline released. We've been through a lot today. You should rest."
"I don't know how I'm ever going to sleep on this cold ground, even with a fire burning," Midori said, eyeing the cave floor.
"I have something which will help." Cael took all the articles from the solar-thermo bag—medical tools, dried rations, the anti-grav lamp—and placed them on the floor. He then removed his boots and pulled the bag over his feet and around his legs. It grew as he pulled, stretching out to engulf him completely.
Midori's eyes widened as Cael pulled the bag around his shoulders. "What kind of voodoo magic is this?"
"I'm not familiar with voodoo, but I can assure you it's not magic. The fibers fold in on themselves and shrink down. I've just pulled them apart. It's large enough to fit a family of four, if need be. Come in. I assure you, between the solar-thermo bag and my body heat, you'll stay quite warm."
Midori took a deep breath and blew it out as she pulled off her shoes. "I'm sure I will."